Nebraska state trooper convinces transfer to join the Cornhuskers

Jan. 22, 2013
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Pat Smith, a transfer from Western Illinois University, was convinced to join the Nebraska Cornhuskers after a 15-minute conversation with a state trooper en route to a visit to the campus. / Western Illinois University Visual Production Center

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

In a story that speaks to the football-crazed state of Nebraska, a college football transfer was convinced to join the local Cornhuskers after getting pulled over by a state trooper en route to his first visit to the campus.

Pat Smith, a kicker from Western Illinois University, was on his way to Lincoln, Neb., over the weekend when a Nebraska trooper pulled him over shortly after he crossed the border from Iowa, presumably for exceeding the speed limit.

Rather than hand Smith a ticket, however, the trooper let him off with a warning and a description of what it means to be a Cornhusker.

Matt Shuckman, the sports editor of the Quincy Herald-Whig, writes that Smith told the trooper he was "exploring the possibility of transferring from Western Illinois University and making this his official visit to the Big Ten Conference school."

Smith gives some of the details:

"(The trooper) took my insurance card and went back to his car. He then waved me back to his car. We spent about 15 minutes talking about the Huskers."

After the chat, the trooper let Smith off with a written warning and "an idea of what the rest of the visit would be like," Shuckman writes.

"It made an impression," Smith said. Writes Shuckman, "It convinced him there's no place he'd rather be."

Nebraskans love the Cornhuskers.

Smith is enrolling at Nebraska as a graduate student, meaning he can kick immediately without sitting out the 2013 season as a transfer. As a junior, Smith was one of 10 finalists for the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award, which is given to the best kicker on the FCS, Division II, Division II, NAIA and junior college levels.